TV reporters hounded by Nandigram villagers

Nandigram, Jan 8: Reporters and cameramen of two Bengali news channels remained detained inside the police station here as they were hounded by a violent mob while covering the unrest over land acquisition.

A section of local villagers, carrying out a militant agitation against the reported land takeover for SEZ, gheraoed the police station shouting that the four television crew of Star Ananda and Chobbish Ghanta (24 hours) be handed over to them.

The channel crew had been camping in the area since yesterday after seven people were killed in an orgy of night long violence the previous day involving the CPI(M) activists and ''Jami Uchched Raksha Committee'', a platform of villagers comprising supporters of the Trinamool Congress, Congress and SUCI.

Representatives of other electronic and print media, who had come here were also inside the police station to gather official reports.

As the crowd kept baying for blood of the journalists, alleging that the news telecast on their channels did not reflect what was happening in the area, Inspector General of Police(Western Range) and his deputy Mr N Ramesh Babu rushed there.

Following an order of the IG a large number of policemen were deployed near the police station to ensure that the mob could not storm it and harm anybody inside.

However, though the crowd dispersed, the journalists had to be confined for long hours inside the police station awaiting a police escort to take them to safety.

UNI